RPG Books

This is an excellant sourcebook for Krynn provided you have all the other books that it refers to. This book makes frequent references to AD&D sourcebooks (most notably the Player's Handbook [2nd ed.]and the Unearthed Arcana). As I don't have either of these books, most the rules asides made little sense. However, as a detailed work on the background, setting, and characters found not only in the Dragonlance game, but also the novels, this book excells.

The Dragonlance setting is strongly based on the classic Good vs. Evil. The book is excellent, as it covers the history of Krynn since its creation to the war that nearly destroyed it. Complete description of deities, NPCs, new races and classes that are very fun to play. Also included are some cards I never figured out, but I have fun anyway. This world promises the most epic campaigns if you are to really role-play, not just hack ns slash. I strongly recommend it. If you are going to buy it, acquire also the novels from this setting. They should really add to your campaign.

It has everything you need to get started in the Dragonlance world, (besides tales of the lance). I would reccomend this book to any and all AD&D players and DM's.

Dragonlance Adventures (DLA), by Tracy Hickman and Margaret Weis, is "the AD&D game source book for continuing adventures in the world of Krynn." It was published in hardcover in 1987 (later followed by Darksword Adventures, Greyhawk Adventures, Forgotten Realms Adventures, and others) and has not been revised or reprinted since. While it does have its own errors (the timeline, in particular, is considered erroneous), many fans feel it captured the essence and flavor of Dragonlance. DLA is a great resource, so if you find a copy, snatch it up quickly.

Margaret Weis writes: "DL Adventures expressed the DL team's vision of the world, a vision we want to try to recreate with our work at Sovereign Press. I will state here, without apology, that DL Adventures will be taken as the foundation for all things Dragonlance with certain exceptions where applicable (such as the flawed time line)."

DLA provides an overview of the world of Krynn and its history, with a focus on how to run an AD&D campaign in Ansalon set after the War of the Lance. These are some of the main sections in DLA:

"Lot in Life" -- Classes specific to Dragonlance: Knights of Solamnia, Tinkers, Wizards of High Sorcery, and Holy Orders of the Stars (includes information on the 21 gods);

"The Races of Krynn" -- Information on the Krynn-specific PC races and subraces: Kender, Gnomes, Elves, Dwarves (and Gully Dwarves), Irda, and Minotaurs.

"Creatures of Krynn" -- Monsters unique to Dragonlance, including Draconians and Krynn Dragons.

"The World that Was" -- Information on Krynn Pre-Cataclius, including a Map of Ansalon, a timeline, NPCs, and ancient magical items: Dragonlance, Device of Time Journeying, Staff of Magius, Hammer of Kharas, Bloodstone of Fistandantilus, Orb of Dragonkind, etc.

"War of the Lance" -- Information on Krynn Alt-Cataclius, including a Map of Ansalon, a timeline, political conditions, climate, NPCs and PCs of the Legends Trilogy (post-War of the Lance).

Very detailed, artwork is solid, if not outstanding. Gives a fine format for exploring Martin's world.

There is only one thing you have to know: no Spellcraft skill because magic is a legend or it is a dead.

I redesign the character sheet (the one it came with sucked which is the only complaint I have about it) and it brought a tear to my eye not having to worry about spell slots or any of that sort of mess.

No magic, magic items, Power Word: Kills or some god coming down to smite you. It is just you, the enemy and the ground in-between. You make your own in this world, you forge your way through either might or wisdom, sword or diplomacy.

Like a great man, a Giant of a man some might say, once said, "It is not so much what we do as why we do it." When you could run away in fear for your life but you chose to stand and regain your honour, right your wrongs and possible make your world a better place to be even it it meant losing your own life, then you know you have struck gold when it comes to a roleplaying campaign.

Sure it has all the levels, skills points and the like but to be honest, I never cared about the levels in this game. I think whatever age or level we start off with is fine by me.

If you are a D20 vet and wanting to try this, take time to learn how Reputation and Influence works. It is a little different but it adds a lot to the world.

If for nothing else, my brother, "Mister Casual About All Things Gaming", can't stop talking about the game. That is for the first time in 15 years. That is the greatness of A Song of Ice and Fire.

I haven't gamed in more than 10 years, and don't really plan on starting again - but this book is worth buying for ANY fan of Song of Ice & Fire series.

Gorgeous artwork & fascinating bios of the characters of George R.R. Martin's books are the main highlights of the book for non-gamers - but the more you delve into the mechanics of the game, the more insights into the world it reveals.

And another pleasant surprise - an introduction including a very detailed & impressive overview of the history of fanstasy writing. Given me lots of new (to me) writers to check out.

Absolutely awesome. Very true to the setting.

Some of the rules are a bit clunky and take a bit of effort to switch over from standard D20, but overall makes for a MUCH better experience.

This book inludes information on the Regis, more Invid mecha, Invid hives, slave camps, ect. You'll need it to play with the Sentinels or the Return of the Masters.

The Invid Invasion Sourcebook allows players to experience Invid infested Earth with 7 new character classes, (One being a repeat) and over a dozen new skills included. REF and Invid mecha are presented in their entirety, (albiet ships and some noticeable mistakes) as well as some additional weapons and vehicles. Out of the 4 timelines, this book has the most background information incluing all NPC stats and extensive detail on the Invid. Fans of Robotech or the RPG can't go wrong buying this book.

The cartoon was why I got the book. I love the invid, and the mecha in it. The Shadow Alpha is alsome. It also tells how you can take player chearters from Robotech and put them in the fight with the invid. Oh how I love to fight alien scum let me count the ways.

If your going strictly by the TV or novel storyline, you will love this book, even though it is missing some mecha (like Lancer's crashed veritech). The RPG story that Siembieda made up completely contradicts the ending of the TV show.

As a GM, I have found the best way to play this book is either changing the story so that the players replace Scott Bernard's group, or else plating it in another part of the world than North and South America. Even with the questionable exisence of the Vindicator, the book is very good overall

This book really tells you how to do amazing things with RPG IV ! For me, that have been using the RPG language family since System/36, this book give me knowledge about the kind of things only available in other languages before RPG IV. Almost all of these tips are really new and incredibly useful to my day to day work.

Great book !

This book is a good book as a reference. If you already have experience in RPG then this book can help learn new and more techniques. It would have been nice to have a index.

I started out on the Sys38 and then went to the AS400 in 1989. Cozzi's book have always been on either my reference shelf or my wishlist. Cozzi has always provided leading edge information on RPGxxx in a digestible format. It's not for pure beginners but it is an invaluable resource for those of us that are still trying to pry out that last bit of functionality of this wonderful box we call the AS400.

This is not a book for learning RPG but it is a good source of information how made RPG programmes better. If you are a beginner or intermediate RPG programmer I am sure that you find a lot of usefull information here.

First the product itself is excellent, the system is quick to grasp but really rewards player creativity, description, and proactive control of allied NPCs. It also lacks the fault of many universally geared RPG systems, mainly that there is no depth of abilities and characters all tend to be similar. Characters tend to be varied, even two identical wizard-esque PCs can have very different looking spells. I particularly enjoyed the Hindrance/Edge system, great for that odd-ball player who insists on playing Hackmaster in your carefully evolved D&D plotline. Savage Worlds hits him over the head with the ol' 2 x 4 of Character Depth.

The Book itself brings my review to a 4. It's a little pricy and could use a 5 dollar markdown based on the number of pages. The organization is built too much for DMs rapidly learning the rules, spacing special rules out of the main ruleset at the cost of easy reference. The illustration is a little lackluster. However, if youre actually going to use this book for its purpose, playing RPGs, then you are missing out on a lot by not picking it up.

The rulesystem is great for reliving old campaigns or finally playing that one RPG you could never get going because the character creation and dice pools were too painful. Conversion is quick and easy, d20 systems are a breeze and have most of the work done for you in the book itself. Play that Al'Quadim or Greyhawk campaign thats molding on your shelf or play Invid Invasion without 16 attributes and 47 skills (sorry Mr Siembieda).

A Battle Mat or Grid is really nice. So are minatures. Speaking of Which you can also run Miniature battles rapidly in this system too. Requires the standard set of seven polyhedral dice, a couple extra d6s and d8s couldnt hurt. But nothing like the three pound bags of dice I use to play warhammer.

I had been a big fan of Deadlands and I bought Savage Worlds because it had the same author and I wanted a new "generic" RPG. d20 didn't quite cut it for me, though I've spent a lot of money on their books. A *lot*. I hate GURPS. So I ordered Savage Worlds, expecting it to be Deadlands but made generic for other gaming worlds.

At first I wasn't sure if I was pleased or not. It certainly wasn't Deadlands. Loosely based on the Deadlands mechanics(and I mean loosely), the game, as advertised on the back, was a mix of RPGs and wargaming.

Don't fret. This doesn't mean that the game is a wargame with some RPG elements. What it is is a role-playing game with all the unecessary elements cut so that the game is just as advertised: fast, furious and fun. Miniatures can make the game run more smoothly, since the combat system relies on such elements as cover, lying prone, distances and so on. You can run the game without minis, but the beauty of the system is that you can run a battle with dozens of characters. In a case like this minis are pretty much a necessity, but the battle will still run only an hour or so. I've played D&D games where a battle with a few orcs and a wizard took longer than that.

Character creation can be done in five to ten minutes. Does that mean the characters are flavorless and one-dimensional? Not by a long shot. I sat down in a half hour and created four characters, all very distinct from one another. This is great for new players, both to RPGs or to Savage Worlds, as they can jump in in mere minutes - literally - with no loss of personality. Indeed, without eight pages of character stats the character is fleshed out more, because he or she is not just a pile of numbers. There are plenty of options without extraneous skills. A rule of thumb is that if a skill isn't used every couple sessions at least, toss it. Why create a special skill in Singing if someone uses it every couple of months? If it's a major part of your world for some reason, the book suggests, perhaps create a skill called Perform that covers singing, dancing, playing an instrument and so on. In most cases though, these skills are rarely used. The book covers the skills that most campaigns are going to contain. Again, quoting from the book, nobody needs to keep track of their skill in pumpkin carving.

Don't misunderstand; this isn't D&D for Dummies. In fact, in some ways it's more realistic and combat much more deadly. An advanced hero going against enemies with guns isn't going to just soak up the bullets because he has a lot of hit points. A called shot to the head can take him down. Similarly, a hero might be able to fight through a good bit of orcs, but if they really team up they can take him down. The game can certainly build POWERFUL heroes, but not heroes that have a license to be stupid under the pretense that they have enough hit points to soak up the attacks.

See, the game doesn't use hit points per se. It uses a system wherein a hit either wounds or it doesn't. Stats, damage, armor and so on are all incorporated into a couple simple rolls to keep combat going with little bookkeeping necessary.

Right now hundreds of fans are working on their own adaptations for Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Shadowrun, various D&D campaigns, movies, books, comics and so on. Great White Games themselves have a number of great campaigns such as Evernight, Necessary Evil and Rippers. In addition, Deadlands Reloaded and Hell on Earth Reloaded are also being released.

I'm in the process of selling my D&D books. I hate having spent so much money for them... thousands, probably... but I no longer feel I need them. I'm perfectly content with Savage Worlds and I don't see that changing.

If you have your doubts, play a few games with the system. At first you'll feel it's too simple, but as you play you'll find that things pretty much even out. A human is still going to get beaten down by a troll. An advanced hero will still slaughter a novice. The only difference is it's faster. Less rolls are made to accomplish the same ends, and what's wrong with that?

Ok, the Savage Worlds system is awesome. Fast, simple, and extremely versatile. I highly recommend it to anyone. That said, anyone trying to sell this book for $50 is trying to rip you off. This exact book retails for $19.95, is avaliable as a PDF for about $10, and a slightly revised print edition is coming out in about a week or two for $10 (yes, a complete RPG system for $10). The publisher's website is at Peginc.com. Do a little research.
Savage Worlds draws its cash not so much from this book (there are no setting rules or anything here), but from the Setting books released for the SW system: Deadlands, Pirates of the Spanish Main, 50 Fathoms and so forth.

I have been roleplaying on and off since my teens in the mid 80s, both GM and player, and I must say that this little game takes my pride of place as a gaming engine these days.

Many systems appealed to me over the years. D&D never cut it with me, and Iron Crown Enterprises had great source material but involved overcomplicated rules. Chaosium products were amongst the greatest, good for source and great rules, although some limitations turn up in that system as well. White Wolf's Storyteller system was a revolution when it came out - heavy on source but light on rules - and what this did was change many gamers' perceptions that rules-lite rpgs could also be 'serious'.

Enter Savage Worlds - heaps of pulpy source books, very easy to GM, but unfortunately no where near as mature in tone as Chasium or White Wolf products. This is unfortunate, but don't let that put you off because as far as rules goes, this little game has got to be one of the simplest and also one of the best.

A very simple skill system that works well on many levels, and can be used for many different situations and genres. No artifical hit point system to make your character feel like a computer toon, but instead a measure of capacity, which makes non combat traits just as important - your character can be made incapable by wounds, but also demoralised with a battle of wits, or frightened beyond functioning. Other games have these rules as additional rules, but in this system they are part of the same core mechanic, making a scholar just as capable as a warrior in dangerous situations, if used the right way.

Game Mastering has never been simplier, and mass battles are handled with ease. Crossing over settings is a breeze, I have just crossed Decipher's LOTR into the SW system and it actually works better, just a few tweaks for the setting and Bob's your uncle. Presently I'm converting Mongoose's Conan into SW for a Hyborian game, and then I may even attempt my favourite fantasy gaming world, Glorantha, which will make an old gamer happy.

For value for money, the rulebook looks slim, but the content is great as this system handles most genres with ease, and I doubt I will buy any other game as I can easily play any setting with these rules. Whether its a hack n slay fantasy romp; a game of secret agents and investigation; Cops and Mobsters; Pirates of the Caribbean; Cyberpunks of the future, or Rousabouts of the Wild West - this game has got it. I just found a SW version of Star Wars on the forum site, and it covers that setting brilliantly, as good as the official game but with a better game engine. The only game that I believe comes close in some concepts is Green Ronin's True20 sytem, although it is needlessly clumsy at times, a legacy from the D20 system and SW wins here.

The published settings are very pulpy but a lot of fun, and well worth the purchase; however the system is so good that many will want to play their own settings.

A lot of fun for players, and an absolute dream for Game Masters - Roleplaying has finally arrived!

If you are a gamer like my self then the Bookofgames books are something you should really pick up.The book goes into great detail when it comes to pictures of the games and it does a great job of telling you what the game is really about plus it tells how many people can play it and what types of reviews the game is getting.

You really should check the book out its great for any gamer out there.

The 2nd edition to this gaming reference series makes a fine coffeetable book or for a quick browse for short snippet info on gaming titles. By all means, this is not a book of in-depth reviews, the titles are covered very briefly (summarised) and categorised according to genre/replayability value/plot sypnosis. If you need comprehensive info on gaming titles, you'd do better on gaming mags or websites. However, it remains a good collector's item as most of your favourite games are included with nice colored screenshots, which makes it a fine addition to your gaming library for all gaming fans. I was very impressed by this 2nd edition in that it included some very recent games which I thought would not make it in before the release date. The only disappointment is that the 2nd edition came in paperback whereas my 1st edition was a hardcover.

I was privileged to be sent an advance PDF copy of The Book of Games Volume 2 by author Bendik Stang, and having now completed my reading of this volume in one evening, I am eagerly looking forward to the print version. The Book of Games Vol. 2 has matured exponentially over its previous incarnation, which I feel is very appropriate as Volume 2 has a very pointed focus on the maturity which the videogame industry as a whole is experiencing. While I am still disappointed in regards to the lack of coverage in regards to the Guild Wars properties, that is largely due to personal bias, as I am a casually hardcore Guild Wars player. Now that I have my only truly negative viewpoint out of the way, let's move on to the good stuff.

I was extremely impressed with the amount of research which had obviously gone into the production of Volume 2, as well as the new features which had been added for the individual game listings and ratings. These additions show that the authors listened to those who took the time to give them feedback on Volume 1, and as such have made themselves a part of the gaming community in a way which some authors never achieve, no matter how knowledgeable they may be on their topics. Another interesting sidenote was seeing another book which I am in process of reviewing featured in a sidebar in this book. As a journalist with a heavy research addiction, I always consider how useful a publication will be to me on my endless quest for knowledge, and The Book of Games Volume 2 passed that consideration with ease. There are many, many sources for further reading and education.

While The Book of Games Volume 1 was a handy reference for the parents and relatives of gamers, Volume 2 fully opens up the changing videogame industry, from development to tournaments and beyond. The authors have successfully put the industry into a nutshell - one which gamers, teachers, parents and even grandparents will appreciate. This volume has every component of the videogame world between its covers, and takes a look at every aspect in a well-worded, well-researched, and well-presented manner. Every chapter contains evidence of how videogames have become an integral part of our lives in the 21st century - from those who pick up a quick game of solitaire to those who travel the pro-gamer circuits. One photo I could immediately relate to was that of Norway's Olav Undheim, winner of the 2007 World Cyber Games Grand Final Warcraft III Tournament. I saw that match, along with all of the other events held on that final game day in Seattle this past October. I was there when Olav hoisted that $ 20 000.00 cheque over his head at the medals presentation - and that's what this industry called videogaming has at its core - a vibrant, global community - one which we experience at our own annual LAN tournament, and one which The Book of Games Volume 2 has opened to the world.

I think that this book will do more to bring an understanding of the videogame culture to non-gamers than any collection of web sites and media articles could possibly do. Parents everywhere will benefit from this book, while gamers will embrace this book for the validation it brings to our gaming culture. The Book of Games Volume 2 is an excellent counter-weight to those who vocalize loud and long their negative views on the gaming industry as a whole. I challenge those who, without really understanding what videogames are truly all about to pick up this book and read it. Understand what draws those of us who game into our multi-pixelled worlds. The artwork is amazing, the music is incredible, and the passion insurmountable. As the owner of a company which has been trying unsuccessfully for three years to obtain a business license for a digital media centre for youth in our hometown, I would love to see the members of our Township council who oppose us, as well as those in the licensing department who insist on calling us an arcade, read this book. The Book of Games Volume 2, I believe, will become a very useful tool for those of us who are not only proud members of the gaming culture, we support the up and coming designers of tomorrow and all of the possibilities the world of gaming has opened to them, whether they become game designers, engineers, architects or even doctors.

I whole-heartedly give The Book of Games Volume 2 a five star rating, and if there have been this many improvements in the series just between volumes 1 and 2, I can hardly wait until I get a look at Volume 3 which will be out in November 2008. To the authors I say "this is a work to be proud of, a job very well done."

Why can't every gaming book on magic and magical items be this good? All the rest are just stat blocks and creation rules for superfantasy nukes.

if you love dnd, you will love conan. the game is more violent, and you can still have hard core roleplaying too!!! it has a power point system for spells, and the type of spells are way differant than dnd, better. the game is set up to have no negative effects from game play by having a group of all soldiers or all scholars, the game is awesome like that holmes, buy it see you later G!

(and, frankly, PRE-Hyborian Age magic). "The Scrolls of Skelos" is, on its face, a magic rules supplement for Mongoose's "Conan the Role Playing Game" (Conan RPG); additionaly, the Scrolls are an ancient, dreaded grimoire mentioned in Robert E. Howard's Conan stories, and this book describes those ancient scrolls (and others) in their game applications. The book adds several new paths of sorcery (an area about which I was unclear since I don't have the Conan RPG rules!), dazzling new feats, and descriptions of some of the greatest wizards and sorcerers of the Hyborian Age and the magic devices which help to make them so powerful. Ever wonder how to incorporate the Heart of Ahriman into a d20 campaign? "The Scrolls of Skelos" tells you how. Pictish magic, Acherontic magic, Stygian and Vendhyan magic -- it's all in here.

"The Scrolls of Skelos" is intended for use with the Conan RPG, but any good GM should be able to find plenty of inspiration in it for (mostly NPC) magic. Magic in the Hyborian Age is frequently tied to "evil" acts, and acts of mind-shattering cosmic horror, so the average good or neutral PC won't find much of use in "The Scrolls of Skelos," but sometimes it is necessary to "fight fire with fire" as Xaltotun learned in "The Hour of the Dragon" when the aforesaid "Heart of Ahriman" wound up in the hands of a *good* priest, and not a Stygian or Anacreontic necromancer. Conan fans will know whereof I speak.

I give "The Scrolls of Skelos" 5 stars and wish that I could afford the main rule book, too! (The revised one, please, not the one with all the typos!)

Here's a "could-have-been"... In the early 90's Gary Gygax (a creator of the original Dungeons & Dragons) teamed up with GDW to create an all-new RPG. The game was originally called Dangerous Dimensions (DD). Though this was changed early on, the damage was done. Rival company TSR claimed that the renamed Dangerous Journeys game infringed their D&D trademark, though the rules systems & backgrounds of the games have little in common. TSR sued. The issue was resolved out-of-court, with game production ceasing, and TSR acquiring the game.

The lawsuit was both costly and distracting for GDW, at a time when the RPG industry was beginning a contraction. GDW would stumble on for a few more years before ceasing operations in 1995. (Interestingly, TSR -- $30 million in debt -- was sold to Wizards of the Coast in 1997, a victim of poor management and market forces.)

Quality of production appears to be high, and the basic game is relatively simple. Much of the book is taken up with elective add-ons. It's a shame Mythus wasn't allowed to continue.

Wayne Gralian
Wayne's World of Books

The Dangerous Dangerous -- Mythus game system is the best! The book is great and well worth its (orginal) price tag of $26. Although the system needs more playtesting (too many opportunities for unfair exploits) and the book needs better editing (errors in the data tables are worse than typo/grammer errors). Mythus & Dagerous Journeys is great..The best!. To bad T$R (AD&D) sued GDW for frivilous copyright issues. Now WOTC (Magic the Gatering) owns T$R and Mythus (through a buy-out) and hopefully they will debug and re-release Mythus.

My friend recently got out of the Marines and he brought with him the most wonderful role playing system I've ever encountered, and I've played alot of them. The way it approaches the use of skills is truly the most effective I've ever seen. The combat system, which runs off the skill system, works beautifully. It is a shame that TSR took this spectacular system away from the role playing populous, though how they won the lawsuit when the similarities to D&D are so few and far between still stupifies us all. I recently picked up Gary Gygax's new game, Lejendary Adventures, and while reading it, I keep thinking to myself, "It's almost Mythus, but Mythus did 'this' better." The only problem that any of us had with Mythus was the magic system, which is a bit unbalanced. Other that that, it is the pennacle of role playing games.

The Rifts role playing game was first published in 1990 and has been continuously published since then in spite of changes in the hobby, the economy and various business oriented road bumps suffered by the company. As of the writing of this review there are a large number of books concerning all aspects of the Rifts game and background information about the game world.

This book, "Rifts Book of Magic" is one of the best books to buy for someone just starting out with Rifts. Within the game world of Rifts there are a myriad of magics and a myriad of spells in many different books. This book brings all that information together in one volume. In addition to the master lists for this information there are rules clarifications, in-game examples, tips on running "magic-oriented" games and much more.

I would consider this book one of four necessary books to have when playing Rifts... Additionally I would suggest the "Rifts Ultimate Edition" core rulebook as well as the "Rifts Game Master Guide" and the "Rifts Adventure Guide". With these four books in hand you have all you need to not just play the game but plan your next purchases in an intelligent fashion.

This book would save you a lot to time when you are trying to find an odd spell in the many World Books. Overall, if you are a Palladium fan, or a Rifts fan, you need one.

Having read thouroughly the pages of this book. I am quite impressed with the completeness of its contents... long had I awaited a centralized location for this information. It is a massive compilation of nearly all the magical "stuff" in the Rifts Megaverse. A definate must have for GM's and players worldwide.

An absolutely awesome rpg supplement for the game that won 3 gold and 1 silver medal at the Ennies last year.

The Star Wars RPG team is really on a roll here. Another great book though it's far more focused than recent supplements. This is the perfect book if you're running a campaign with a smuggler, pirate, crime lord, bounty hunter, or any type of unsavory character we've seen in the Star Wars Universe.

That having been said there's almost nothing for Jedi here (they receive only one talent) so if you're playing a Jedi campaign and pressed for money, get the Knights of The Old Republic guide which came out in August. A breakdown of the book:

Chapter I: Character Options:

Here we get stats for the new species Blood Carver, Clawdite, Falleen, Gand, Jawa, Ryn, Toydarian, and Ubese. Honestly, these races are wonderful and really thought out. I wasn't the biggest fan of the KoTOR races, which i felt were too powerful, but these are just great.

All the classes get new talents. There's a whole new Noble talent tree called Disgrace, and previous trees receive major additions; most notably the Scoundrel's Fortune, Misfortune and Spacer trees, the Scout's Fringer tree, and the Soldier's Brawler tree. There's also new high tier talents that promote staying in a base class for an extended time.

New feats include Burst of Speed, Close Combat Escape, Collateral Damage, Cornered, Deadly Sniper, Deceptive Drop, Desperate Gambit, Duck and Cover, Fleet-footed, Friends in Low Places, Hasty Modifications, Hideous Visage, Impersonate, Impetuous Move, Impulsive Fight, Knife Trick, Lightning Draw, Metamorph, Opportunistic Retreat, Resurgence, Signature Device, Slippery Maneuver, Staggering Attack, Stay Up, Superior Tech, Tactical Advantage, and Wicked Strike.

Prestige classes receive lots of love. Ace Pilot gets the very Han Solo-ish Blockade Runner tree, Bounty Hunter gets some new talents and a new tree (Gand Findsman), Crime Lord is HUGELY expanded on (14 new talents!). Gunslinger gets a new talent and a new Pistoleer tree, based around dual wielding pistols. New prestige classes include Assassin, Charlatan (think Lando Calrissian), and Outlaw. Also, The Force Unleashed's Master Privateer class is updated here, with a new write-up and a new Piracy tree.

Chapter II: Outlaw Tech

This is a huge chapter on upgrading weapons and armor using a new slot based system. There's also a nice section on installing illegal upgrades to ships as well as some brand new starships (some with deckplans).

Chapter III: Fringe Campaigns

This chapter has some really great information on running a campaign set in the seedy parts of the galaxy. It also has an awesome table that helps build jobs for characters and calculates appropriate XP and Credit rewards. There's information on bounty hunting and running famous smuggling runs (The Kessel Run!) as well as information on the justice system and penalties for breaking the law.

Chapter IV: Fringe Elements

This part lists some famous fringe characters (Tyber Zann, Xizor, Zam Wessell, Zuckuss, etc.) as well as many archetypes. It also goes on to list some famous criminal organizations (lots of fluff here)and relevant starships.

Chapter V: Port Nadir

This entire chapter is dedicated to fleshing out Point Nadir, which is a fully realized shadowport that can be inserted into any campaign. I haven't gotten much into it, but it seems extraordinarily detailed.

Chapter VI: Mini-Adventures

Pretty self-explanatory. Rodney Thompson (the game's designer) said that in many campaigns a character will start off as a bounty hunter or a smuggler but will soon start working for a larger organization as the main focus of the story comes into play. So characters that call themselves "smugglers" don't very often do smuggling by a certain point in the game. He put these adventures in here to keep characters doing what they want to do in between the main story arc. 8 mini-adventures are here, all of varying CLs and themes.

Chapter VII: The Fell Star

An entire fringe adventure. I haven't played it yet but as soon as I do, I'll update it here.

That just about wraps us up. So like I said, if you're not a Jedi you should definitely consider purchasing this book. It has tons of invaluable information.

Scum and Villainy is probably Wizards of the Coast's most creative, fluffy book in its Star Wars line ever. Beyond the tons and tons of new character options and the new (exhaustive) rules for upgrading and modifying equipment, this book contains great information about the Star Wars universe - specifically the seedier side of Star Wars.

This was the side of Star Wars most often represented in West End Game's line of Star Wars RPG books in the 80s and 90s, and now WotC has picked up where they left off almost 10 years ago, forgoing the Jedi and the Force, and presenting the kind of lives Han Solo, Lando Calrissian and Boba Fett lived.

Like every other book in the line, this book contains a little bit of everything (except for anything dealing with the Force). You get new species, starships (and 2 new deckplans), weapons & equipment, etc... But what you also get is an entire chapter based around Point Nadir, an entirely new little slice of Star Wars never before written about. And after that chapter, you get page after page of fleshed-out adventures (something not usually seen in WotC's Star Wars line).

Rounding everything out are tons of "hidden" little nuggets of Star Wars gaming goodness: extensive docking bay generation tables, actual rules for nearly every kind of underworld job there is, and even how to navigate the Kessel Run. You get a few pages on exactly what happens if the heroes get arrested, from the arrest itself all the way through to the trail - with rules for everything along the way. I so badly want to run a courtroom scene with my heroes on trial now.

This review may seem little scattershot, but then again, so is this book. This is one of those rare few RPG books you can read from cover to cover, and yet, there is so much information on so many things, so many aspects of the Star Wars universe, that it's hard to pin the book down.
But needless to say, this is a 5-star book all the way, and like pretty much every other book released for this line thus far, it's practically required reading.